Premier League: Palace Test for Struggling Spurs

Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur

Eighth hosts 14^th in a post-Christmas knees-up on Sunday when the Premier League contest between Crystal Palace and Tottenham is the Capital City clash at Selhurst Park.  

London is calling on Saturday too when West-enders Fulham head East to meet West Ham United. And then a day later, it’s South versus North when Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace welcome Thomas Frank’s Spurs.

And this is a game Tottenham really need to attack. With just one win in eight Premier League games, Spurs’ promising start under Frank is becoming a distant memory and, once again, they find themselves battling to climb into the top half of the table.

Glasner’s Eagles have had no such problem and were flying high for most of the second half of 2025. But they have more recently, strained under the pressure of European and domestic tests. Palace were in EFL Cup action on Tuesday night, and they suffered a crushing blow, losing on penalties to Arsenal after clawing their way back into a tight and tense tie.

The Premier League 2025 betting odds say the hosts will have the edge in this Capital clash, but Spurs may feel this is a good time to take on the busy Eagles and get their own campaign back on track. 

 

Talking Points

Palace hopes for an EPL bounce back

Defeat to Arsenal in the EFL Cup was hard to take for Glasner after the Eagles worked so hard to stay in the game, only to be beaten on penalties. And now they have the chance to pick themselves up and give their fans a treat against the Gunners’ north London rivals on Sunday.    

Captain and centre-back Marc Guehi is having a superb campaign, and he will be a man in demand again during the January transfer window. As my SBOTOP mate James writes, the Palace board would be daft to entertain any offers, having held Liverpool off in summer. And he was the man who earned the Eagles the penalty shootout against Arsenal with a dramatic 95^th-minute leveller.

Glasner’s men have shown some signs of fatigue in recent weeks, losing 3-0 at home to Manchester City before taking a 4-1 slapping from strugglers Leeds United, and his squad has become a little stretched. Winger Ismaila Sarr is away representing Senegal at AFCON and, in other Premier League 2025 news emerging from Selhurst Park, both Daichi Kamada and Daniel Munoz are out injured. The experienced Jefferson Lerma may be in line to start, while the manager will hope Jean-Philippe Mateta continues to cope with his niggle and can lead the line from the off.  

 

Spurs players must believe in Frank

Tottenham could climb as high as ninth with a win in South London, but that is more easily written than done after a poor run of results. There was optimism around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in August after the Whites had ended their trophy drought with a Europa League success, and they had just welcomed a highly rated new manager in Thomas Frank.

But the Premier League is a relentless and ruthless competition, and Tottenham have fallen into a cycle of disappointment. Winning is a habit and so is losing, and Spurs found a creative way of messing up their last outing, finishing the game with nine men.  

So, Tottenham will be without Xavi Simons and Cristian Romero, who both copped a red card during the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool before the Christmas break. With Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr both at AFCON and James Maddison still injured, Frank’s squad too is depleted.

Joao Palhinha will play a big role in midfield where, if he can win that battle, Spurs will try to get the likes of Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani in the game. The Whites need to back their manager and get a win, and soon.  

 

History

Spurs have won 19 of their last 31 meetings with Palace, while the Eagles have won eight, and there have been just four draws. And Spurs have had plenty of success at Selhurst Park too, with eight wins from 15, losing five, and there have been two draws.

But Palace won this fixture 1-0 last season as part of a league double, also winning 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Both clubs come into the game in patchy form. Palace notched two wins, two draws, and two defeats from their last six, while Spurs have picked up two wins, one draw, and three losses over that time.

 

Betting Tip

This one can go any way of three, with Palace at 2.25 to win, Spurs at 3.20, and the draw at 3.25. It’s going to be a post Christmas cracker, and I’m predicting goals, with 2-2 at a price of 13.00 my chosen scoreline.

   

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